The Best & Worst ETFs in 2013’s First Half

Solar stocks stole the show while gold went bust

Worst: Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF

YTD Performance: -57%

At this point, it should probably be noted that Van Eck’s Market Vectors ETFs aren’t some awful cadre of inferior products — they just happen to have the biggest names in some of the worst asset classes right now.

Gold has fallen from a high of nearly $1,700 per ounce earlier this year to just below $1,200. While that 30% decline has nicked investors in direct gold investing vehicles like the GLD, it’s really brought the pain to miners of the yellow metal.

Especially hard hit has been the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), which holds small- and midcap junior miners. These miners are small exploration companies focused on the discovery of precious metals and minerals, who then usually sell successful projects to larger miners.

A junior mining company is an exploration company that looks for new deposits of gold, silver, uranium or other precious minerals. These companies target properties that are believed to have significant potential for finding large mineral deposits. But when gold goes through the floor, so too do the junior miners hunting for it.